Trials of a C'tarl C'tarl
by Dekallis
Summary: CH10 UP! I'm back! for the new comers it's a GeneAisha but not fluffy or anything I garuntee it's not like any other GeneAisha fic out there. or most other OS fic's for that matter.
1. Poison

Trials of a c'tarl c'tarl By:DarkKnightSephiroth  
  
Chapter1: Poison It was a pretty average day at Starwind & Hawking Everybody was doing their usual thing Jim was typing away at his computer Melfina was cooking Sazuka was sipping her tea. And Gene was plastered on the couch staring at the TV. The only one not doing her usual thing was Aisha she was in her room staring out the window sighing occasionally. She had a deep feeling of emptiness that wouldn't go away and she couldn't figure out what it was. It had bothered her since shortly after she become a member of the outlawstar crew though she usually played it off and it hadn't really effected her much lately it had been getting to her maybe it was the lack of good battles maybe she was just hungry she didn't know but she wanted to figure it out She got dressed and decided she was going to go out but as she headed out she bumped into Gene "Ah just the c'tarl c'tarl I wanted to see!" he said "What is it Gene?" She replied trying not to let her mood show in her voice. "We've got a job to do and you and I are going in alone its on a jungle planet called Fusia. The Fusians have a problem with some smugglers/poachers/thieves. Apparently this one group of guys it out to do it all the Fusians have tried to catch them themselves but everyone they've sent has been killed and sent back in little pieces so they've come to us." Gene explained "Why only you and me?" She asked "Aparently the fusians aren't too keen on the idea of letting too many off worlders romp around their planet and will only allow 2 of us to go I picked you because you're the best one for this Job being a c'tarl c'tarl and all you should be able to get around the jungles pretty easily and you'd be able to figure out where they are and such plus your immortality makes you the perfect pointman or in this case pointwoman." He explained "So you coming or not?" he asked waiting on her reply. "What's it pay?" "100 million wong" "I'm in"  
  
A day later they were standing on the surface of Fusia it was a lush green planet with the cities only barely distinguishable from the forests and jungles. The Fusians themselves looked like something out of Planet of the Apes with their gorilla like frames.Shortly after their arrival a tall fusian about 6'5 feet aproched them and he looked directly at Gene. "You gene Starwind?" he asked "Yea that's me this is my partner Aisha Clan Clan." The fusian looked at Aisha "Ah a C'tarl C'tarl. Wise choice of partners I hear they fight well and have a love of battle also I hear they're seemingly immortal." The he leaned close to gene and whispered "I also hear they make good mates and are insatiable in the bedroom." Gene looked a bit surprised "Oh uh I think you got the wrong idea Aisha and I aren't.." He trailed off once he saw the look of understanding on the mans face and Aisha looked confused "Wha? We aren't what?" She asked completely lost as to what was going on. "Nothing Aisha don't worry about it." Gene replied starting to walk "So you got a name?" He asked referring to the Fusian. "Oh sorry about that how rude of me My names Mojimbo." "So Mojimbo where do we start our search for these criminals?" Gene asked. "well the thing is we're not sure where they are exactly we do know their hide out is somewhere in the jungle and we have an idea that its in this region but beyond that not much is known we don't even know for certain how many there are but at least 3 are confirmed." Mojimbo answered. "Great..so we're looking for needles in one Gigantic haystack?" Aisha asked "Not quite.There's an important shipment coming in soon it's a counteractant we use to keep the plants here from completely overuning the cities however if used improperly it has the properties to become either a poison gas or a liquid poison. We're almost certain they'll go after it and when they do you'll follow them all the way back to whatever snake hole they came out of." Mojimbo explained. "Great plan. When's the shipment due? " Gene asked "Tonight at 8:00" Mojibo answered "We'll be ready." Aisha said.  
  
That night Gene and Aisha spied on the shipment it was stolen just as expected they followed the crooks to a small section of shacks about 10-15 miles from the city. The crooks themselves weren't Fusians however and appeared to be of different races one looked human one looked like a c'tarl c'tarl and another looked like a creature Gene had never seen before. A few moments later the shipment was unloaded and a few others came out of the shacks this made for a total of seven crooks.  
  
"No wonder all their guys never make it back there's a pretty good number of these guys." Gene whispered to Aisha. "Gene I'm going in okay?" Aisha asked starting to move but waiting for his answer before taking off. "No not yet Aisha we don't know if that's all of them or what kind of weapons they have or even if there are booby traps." Gene said grabbing her arm. "So? How much will that matter? I can take them the only one we'll have to worry about is the C'tarl C'tarl. Aside from him though nothing else matters they can have almost any gun in the universe and not be able to hurt me." She whispered. "Yea but what if they do have one of those guns? Or what if there's a poison booby trap? Your body won't be able to save you if you get poisoned you know." He answered. "Oh please since when do you worry so much about me? Or worry at all for that matter? I'm going in." She said heading toward the back of a shack to get into position. "Fine go then stupid C'tarl C'tarl never listens who said I cared what happens to you anyway?" He snapped she stopped for a moment a bit hurt by his words. And then a thought came to her had gene picked her because he really didn't care? Knowing this was a dangerous mission and all? 'No.gene wouldn't do that to me.e didn't mean that.did he?' she thought. And was caught off guard when she was spotted  
  
"HEY! YOU THERE!" Came the voice of the c'tarl c'tarl "What're you doing here?!" 'uh oh.' She thought 'oh well here goes' "I'm Here to stop you guys! That's what I'm doing here!" She yelled and charged into battle she the other 6 crooks shot at her but the bullets did pretty much nothing and she took them out with ease but in this time the C'tarl C'tarl had loaded a gun and when she turned around she was shot in the stomach she felt a horrible Pain and letting out a horrible screech she fell Gene heard her and knew she was in trouble and rushed there just in time to hear..  
  
"Ugh!. What did you shoot me with?!" She screamed. "A special bullet coated with the Chemicals we stole it's a counteractant so your usual rapid healing is having a bit of a hard time kicking in and in the mean time the poison will seep into your system and you will die there is only one cure for this toxin and the plant is very rare and hard to find and it's only in this Jungle though with that wound good luck searching for it!" He said laughing and ran off taking what he could carry with him once he was gone Gene popped out from his position and ran immediately to Aisha  
  
"Aisha! You ok?" He asked looking concerned at the wound and the blood flowing from it.  
  
"DO I LOOK OKAY?!" She Yelled at him. "Get me to the damn hospital!" She said still yelling Gene picked her up carefully and carried her in his arms all the way back to the city they'd come from He got to the hospital and they quickly admitted Aisha in she was patched up as best as the doctors could.  
  
"Mr. Starwind I'm afraid there's a problem Your girlfriend here is poisoned with a toxin that we don't have the antidote for the plant can only be found in 1 part of the jungle and it's a very dangerous part."  
  
"firstly doc AISHA IS NOT MY GIRL!!" He yelled wondering why everyone kept thinking that though he figured it was because he was traveling alone with her.  
  
"Well fine whatever you say."  
  
"Look I don't care what you think fine she's my girl whatever I don't care just tell me where to get the antidote!" Gene yelled for once actually worried about Aisha she was in a position where she could actually die and that was something Gene couldn't see her doing. And in his mind he knew if she did it'd be his fault because of what he'd said. He saw her hesitate after he said it and that was when she was caught off guard and the C'tarl C'tarl had started loading the gun.  
  
"Okay okay.calm down..it grows in a cave about 20 miles east of here. But it's very difficult to get because there's a pair of guardian protecting the cave and on top of that the plant itself has to be in a certain stage of maturity to be effective as an antidote."  
  
All Gene needed to hear was where the antidote was the rest of it pretty much took a backseat for the time being he went into Aisha room and picked her up  
  
"What are you doing?!"  
  
"I'm taking her with me I can give her the antidote faster that way. There isn't any special way it has to be given is there?" Gene asked  
  
"no but."  
  
"That's all I need to hear now I'm going." Gene said starting to walk out with Aisha in his arms.  
  
"You'd better hurray! I estimate she's only got an hour! Maybe less! When you find the plant apply it to her wound! And mash some of it up and make a liquid for her to drink that should cure her!" The doctor yelled after Gene as he left.  
  
"Thanks" Gene said as he exited he got on the street and the first thing he did was steal a car he needed to get Aisha there a quickly as possible. "g..ene." Aisha said weakly trying to talk "shhh.Aisha just rest I'll get the antidote don't you worry your pretty little head." He said and she smiled he'd called her pretty.that was the first time he'd ever used the word in relation to her. "t..thank..you gene.." She said she was sweating and blood had soaked her bandages. About three fourths of the way to the cave the road ended cut off by plant growth. "Shit! Guess I'll have to walk it." He said getting out and going around to the other side of the car to get her he put her on his back and started walking when he reached the cave he realized 40 minutes had gone by he didn't have a whole lot of time left and Aisha was getting worse by the minute. Then a rumbling came from the cave. Two large Lion looking creatures came out of the cave apparently they'd claimed it as their home and didn't like gene snooping around outside. "Sorry" He said and pulled out his castor gun "But I've got to get in that cave to save her life and I'll gladly go through you" He put in a number 9 and blasted one as it leaped it was hit directly but survived the blast and still managed to hit genes arm with one of its claws "What the hell are you guys?!" He ran around dodging them and firing shells but nothing seemed to work and then after about 10 minutes of this gene got down to his last resort "FINE BE LIKE THAT AND NOT DIE! I'll SEND YOU SOMEWHERE ELSE THEN!" He yelled and fired a number 13 he hit one and it was instantly sucking into the vortex then Gene fired another one and got rid of the second. As he headed into the Cave he was Zapped by both of them the cost of using the shells had been paid and now Gene looked like he was the one about to die but his determination not to let Aisha die carried him he got to the plants he removed her bandages and put one on her that looked like it was matured and then got a second one and ground it into a cup and poured some water from a canteen into it then mixed it he looked at her and saw she had passed out. "Aisha..Aisha?..No you can't die on me now! And especially not after all that shit I just went through to save you! You owe me damn it! I paid the price of TWO number 13's to save you! You'd better live you weakling!" He yelled. "Who you callin weak." She said softly and coughed. "Good you're still alive I should be in time then.here drink this." He said putting the cup to her mouth and tilting it slowly so she could drink it. After wards she layed down and rested on the ground Gene was glad she should be okay now and now he needed to rest.the drain from the number 13's was finally too much for him and he passed out. He fell directly on Aisha though he didn't land that hard since he was already leaning over her before he passed out.  
  
When he awoke he found Aisha was staring at him she didn't say anything but just stared. And for awhile he stared back into her eyes there was something different about them something special.then suddenly he knew what would happen next he knew from previous experiences with women and he got up slowly. "ug."He groaned "how long have I been out?" "Well for at least an 45 minutes.that I've been conscious anyway." She answered. Her endless stare now broken. "We gotta get outta here." Gene said after awhile "Can you stand?" he asked her. She shook her head "I have enough strength to talk but that's about it." She answered. Gene picked her up in his arms and carried her out she put her arms around his neck and curled up close to him "Thank you Gene for saving my life. I didn't think you cared so much."  
  
"I don't" Gene said trying to play it off "I just don't want you dieing because of me that's all." He said and she smirked knowing he was lying he cared and she knew it and that was important to her. On the way back gene discovered the car was gone probably stolen by one of the crooks most likely th c'tarl c'tarl that got away. The mere thought of him pissed gene off he almost killed Aisha and gene was going to make sure if he saw him again he'd pay. Halfway back to the City Aisha found the strength to walk after seeing gene was getting really tired from carrying her she wanted to stay just the way she was but she didn't want to tire Gene out if she could walk.  
  
"Gene I think I can walk now" she said. And he set her down she still kept one arm around him pretending to be using him as a brace knowing full well she could walk fine. After awhile of silence she spoke up suddenly. "Gene." She started unsure of herself. "Yea?" He asked waiting to see what she'd say. "Kiss me." Gene stopped when she said that. "What?" He asked "Can you say that again I don't think I heard you right." He said. "You heard me I want you to kiss me right here right now I wanted you to back in the cave but you got up instead so now I'm asking." She said sighing afterwards glad to have finally said it. "Uh.wow.Aisha..I.." Gene Stammered. "What? Afraid Melfinas going to show up out of nowhere and say "Oh Gene what are you doing?" she said mockingly. "Hey Mel doesn't run me!" He snapped. "So then what are you afraid of? That you'll like it?" She said taunting him. "I'm not afraid of anything especially not you!" he said "Then what are you waiting for?" She asked still taunting him. He gave in and kissed her and almost immediately she had her arms around him and they were kissing passionately. Neither of them knew how long it lasted but eventually they broke the kiss. And both took a good breath after words. The the stood there staring at each other. "wow." Was all Aisha could say. "Satisfied now?" Gene asked. "For now." She answered grinning. "Hey don't go thinking this means we're gonna be together or anything cuz I didn't feel a thing." He said starting to walk again "Oh and I know you can walk. So your doing it on your own from now on." He added. "Oh sure.but I know you did feel something Gene like my Butt." She said giggling and walking along side him. "Oh shut up Aisha." He said and got silent. Aisha had figured out what that emptiness she'd felt had been before it was loneliness though now after that kiss she didn't feel it anymore she was sure she wanted to be with Gene now. And She was pretty sure Gene wanted her but he was resisting it probably because of Mel. She figured. They walked on in silence for awhile before a explosion could be heard and a cloud of green gas could be seen wafting over the trees. "Uh oh it's the poision! That guy must have set of a poison gas bomb let get out of here!" Gene said turning around Aisha turned picked him up and ran at a speed Gene never knew she could reach she didn't stop until she felt they were a good distance from the poison.  
  
"Thanks Aisha." Gene said looking at her. "no problem I owe you. You went through a lot of trouble to save me. And I swear to you that you won't regret it." She said already longing to kiss him again. Gene needed to think he knew she wanted him now. And he knew he wanted her as well but what about Mel? He thought he couldn't just leave her like that.but wait. Did mel even think of him as being hers? Did she even understand the concept of a boyfriend? He needed to get back to the outlaw star he needed to talk to her and he needed some more equipment so he could kill the bastard who just took out a city and almost killed Aisha. But they were stuck for the time being they didn't know how long the poison lasted before it dissipated or how close the next city was or even if they were being watched or followed. They didn't have anywhere to go no way off the planet since there was oviously no where for the outlaw star to land and no way they could be seen from the ship through all the trees they'd just have to make due for the time being...But how?  
  
End Chapt1  
  
Okay! So what'd you think? Doesn't it make perfect sense to put gene and Aisha together after all that? And plus they're STILL stuck together too. And probably will be for awhile Next chapter : Chapter2: Survivor - More explosions more poison more death more hunting. 


	2. Survivor

Trials of a C'tarl C'tarl :By D.K.S.  
  
Chapter2:Survivor  
  
A couple days had passed since the explosion of the poison bomb in the city of which Gene didn't even know the name He never bothered to find out he felt kind of bad about it now. They still had no way of contacting the outlaw star so him and Aisha had been living in a house of straw and stick while they worked on building a cabin. They'd been relatively happy considering the circumstances and Gene had come to really deeply care for Aisha he dared not say he loved her for the magnitude of saying such a thing boggled the mind the repercussions and after effects would be seemingly endless so he made sure to avoid using those words. She knew and accepted the fact that he just wasn't ready to say them to her. There'd been no sign of the C'tarl C'tarl that had bombed the city and searching through the jungle would have been just crazy without any idea where your going or how to get there. So they stayed put and figured eventually something would come up. And it did about Midday one of the Fusians that had been living in the city managed to wander out to where they were he looked bad and he was headed toward the straw hut calling for help hoping praying someone would be inside. Gene stepped outside and when he saw him he called for Aisha to get the Antidote that they'd collected in case any survivors made it out. As the man(I geuss you can call them men..well close enough anyway.) got to the door of the house he passed out Gene lifted him just barely and placed him on a mat they had Aisha placed the herbs on him and soon he recovered.  
  
"Hey there you alright now?" Gene asked looking him over carefully.  
  
"Yes Thank you...The poison...we thought it'd have dissipated by now but we were wrong it's still thick and heavy like a cloud that won't go away hanging over the city." He said still a bit weak  
  
"you mean there are other survivors?" Aisha asked now interested.  
  
"Yes they're holed up in a underground facility for some reason the poison mist doesn't sink." He explained  
  
"I see...Is there any chance we could get a message through?" Gene asked his hopes rising  
  
"No I'm afraid not...we don't even have a radio to find out if any other cities have been hit." The man answered.  
  
"Damn" Gene said his hopes going right out the window.  
  
"Do you know the way to any of the other cities?" Aisha asked. "uh yes I do why?" The man asked  
  
"Well we need to contact some friends of ours they can help us out in finding the guys responsible we were hired to find and stop him but the job went sour and one guy escaped and then later on our way back we saw the explosion and the mist." Gene explained  
  
"Oh I see... You need to find a city that isn't wiped out yet. To get supplies and back up?"  
  
"Exactly and also we can find out how many cities have been hit and from there we have a chance to catch him." Gene said  
  
A meal and an hour later they set out heading from city to city they found 3 others already hit though finally they found one that wasn't but judging from its proximity to the previous cities it would probably be next they had to do this quick the had to warn everyone get a message to the outlaw star and keep a look out for the C'tarl C'tarl man all at once.  
  
"I'll go call the ship Aisha you and him warn the mayor of the city or whatever I don't care how you do it just warn as many people as possible as quickly as possible." Gene said running off to the nearest terminal to call the ship.  
  
Aisha told the man to go start the warning and she'd keep a look out for the C'tarl C'tarl she remembered his scent he'd be easy for her to find if he was nearby.  
  
On the outlaw Star The phone rang and Jim answered it. "Yo Jim here" "JIM!" gene yelled. "Gene? Wow hey how are ya? How'd the Job go?" Jim asked. "Jim things went terrible Aisha almost died and now this guys got bombs that release enough poison to wipeout cities before anyone can get word out. Send Suzuka down now! And get me some equipment damnit! I need to be in contact at all times from now on and I need to find out how many cities on this planet have been hit! You got all that?" Gene asked hurridly "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Aisha Almost died? Is she okay? Where is she now?" Jim asked. "JIM WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS NOW! AISHAS FINE NOW HURRY UP! THIS TOWN I'M CALLING FROM IS PROBOBLY NEXT!" Gene yelled irritated by Jims' idiocy. "Alright alright! I'll start getting it all together right away gene!" He hung up Suzuka! Gene wants you on the surface NOW they need your help apparently everything's going downhill real fast down there." Jim said while rushing to gather electronics and gadgets together for Gene. "Alright sounds pretty bad I'll go" She said heading for one of their newly acquired drop ships. "Oh and take this with you!" Jim Said handing her a suitcase stuffed with gadgets. And with that she was off her drop ship landed just outside the city she got to Gene quickly he wasn't hard to find he was making a huge commotion in the street. "Gene!" She yelled "I'm here!" "Suzuka! Glad to see you. We have a bit of a problem Aisha has picked up the scent of the guy planting the bombs but we still don't know where it is or how long till it detonates we've got to find it and stop it from going off! Look for anything suspicious a briefcase left in the street or on a corner a unattended stroller anything!." "got it! Oh and your gadgets are here." She said dropping the suitcase in front of him and hurried off looking for Aisha. She spotted Aisha following a tall C'tarl C'tarl sort of dark skinned must have been the guy she thought she back tracked and looked for anything suspicious on their path but saw nothing So she picked up following him again. He was carrying a briefcase and was carrying a cane as well wearing a suit and hat. Meanwhile Gene was setting up the gear. He set up the uplink to the ship fairly quickly "Alright Jim how many cities?" He asked "Uh 5" Jim answered. "Five? Damn...this is a small planet and there weren't many cities to begin with that must be a big chunk of the population here." Gene said more to himself than to Jim. "Actually he hit the five Major cities so it was more than half the population of this planet." Jim said. Now Gene was really pissed this guy was out to wipe out a civilization for no apparent reason. There had to be a purpose a reason somewhere 'hmm..he's c'tarl c'tarl could that have anything to do with it?' gene thought perhaps the c'tarl c'tarl empire wanted this plant for their own for some reason or maybe they just wanted this race gone for some reason or maybe this guy was out to take the planet for his own. Who knows? Only he did. Gene didn't care about the reward anymore this was personal now. Besides his employers were probably already dead anyway. And dead men surely can't pay you. "Hey Jim try and contact the remaining cities warn them there's a mad man on the loose with extremely poisonous bombs." Gene said "Right gotcha gene." Jim said typing furiously on his laptop. "Done!" He announced a few moments later. "Good now can you get me a reading on the city I'm in now?" Gene asked having an idea. "Uh yea sure why?" Jim asked curious as to what Gene was thinking. "Isolate C'tarl C'tarl life signs and upload it directly to my mini map down here." Gene ordered. "Ah I see you can find him much easier that way." Jim said "Exactly" Jim started the upload and not too much later Gene had the reading the problem was there were 3 Gene knew one of them would be Aisha but that meant there was another guy walking around they didn't know about before. Since two of the life signs were close to each other he figure that Aisha was already following one and headed for the Isolated one.  
  
He found the guy just as he got there the man had left behind a briefcase and was walking hurriedly to a nearby car. 'That's gotta be him' Gene thought. And made his move "Hey you!" He yelled at the man who stopped turned and saw gene and then took off got in the car and was gone before gene could even get halfway to the car. He turned around went back and got the briefcase. And ran with it out to the jungle held his breath and opened it. There before him was the bomb and the timer was counting. "JIM! How do I stop this thing?" Gene asked franticly. Jim was already looking up bomb schematics and found the ones they needed cut the yellow wire then the black wire then cut the blue and red at the same time!" Gene followed his direction as he said them and the timer stopped he let out a sigh of relief and tossed the thing in the nearest river and headed back into the city to find Aisha and Suzuka.  
  
Meanwhile Aisha had Isolated the man she was following and pinned him to a wall "Remember me dirt bag?!" She yelled. "Uh...No can't say that I do pretty face though..." He said "Don't Play dumb with me! I know you know who I am!" She yelled slaming him against the wall. "Okay okay...I know you..But how are you still alive?" He asked. "That's better. I'm still alive because I had a friend that cared enough to save me that how!" She yelled throwing him through a pillar. "I'm SO going to rip you apart for what you did to me!" She said walking over to him and picking him up off the ground "Ugh...Cal calm down you know if you kill me you'll never find out everything. "He said smirking. Then suzuka showed up. Holding the cane he'd dropped and suddenly he went white with fear. "You! Get that out of here!" He yelled. "Oh this?" Suuka said holding up the cane. "I thought it looked suspicious Aisha ignored it but I didn't." She said smiling "So unless you stop it I geuss we're all going in a cloud of poison."  
  
"Okay okay! Open it and hit the numbers 4720 on the number pad!." He said suzuka did exactly that and the cane deactivated. And the man let out a sigh of Releif. "Okay Aisha you can do what you want now the city is in no danger" Suzuka said starting to leave "Wha?! You can't!" he yelled As Aisha reared back a fist but Gene appeared just in time to stop her. "Wait! He's not the right guy I already saw him and threw the bomb in the river. He got away though." Gene said "Wha? But this guy had a bomb too!" Aisha exclaimed "So then there must be more than one person setting bombs." Suzuka said simply "It makes sense as to how they cover an entire city." She added.  
  
Just then Suzaka sensed a presence "Someone's here" just as she spoke a hail of bullets ripped through the room Suzuka deflected the bullets coming her way with her sword and gene found a pillar to hide behind. Aisha just stood there the bullets not phasing her in the least. She turned and walked right up to the man while still dragging the other man from before. As she walked the man with the gun was shooting more and more franticly as she approached. Now that she was right in front of him she grabbed the gun and crumpled it.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU?!" He screamed absolutely terrified of her. "I am a Immortal C'tarl C'tarl Your gun and those stupid bullets won't kill me." She said now reaching for him and as he saw her arm move he tried to run but it was much too late for that she quickly grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up holding him and the other man she'd captured. And from the look in her eyes they could both tell she was not happy.  
  
"Gene you okay?" she asked without looking away  
  
"Yea I'm fine." Gene replied coming out from behind the pillar which was now riddled with bullet holes on one side.  
  
He started to ask suzuka if she was okay but when he saw her standing there as if nothing had happened he figured she was fine.  
  
"Now who sent you?" gene asked the men walking up and standing by Aisha's side.  
  
"Nobody sent me! I sent myself!" The first man replied  
  
"Yea same here" said the second.  
  
"Right....sure..you guys got names?" Gene continued questioning  
  
"call me boomer." Said the first.  
  
"Right...boomer geuss your gonna tell me your name drove you to start bombing cities. And what about you?" Gene said looking toward the second man. But he just kept silent.  
  
"Okay we'll just call you trigger from now on then since everyone wants to go by what they do." Gene said almost laughing at his own stupid joke.  
  
"Lets take them to the ship. Suzuka Let the authorities know we've got them but tell them not to let down their guard just yet we don't know if there are anymore of them and if they ask why we didn't go straight to them with these guys tell them its not over yet theres still a few....Personal things that need to be taken care of." Gene said walking off while motioning for Aisha to follow him.  
  
"Right I'll catch up with you later then." Suzuka said hurrying off.  
  
Aisha followed Gene keeping both men tightly in her grasp. She was still pissed off and there wasn't much chance of her mood changing in the near future. In the back of her mind she wondered how Melfina would react to the idea of her and Gene being together and the others too and she wondered if Gene would really stay with her or would she end up having been just another girl to occupy him? She was a bit worried about it but the thoughts never fully registered as she was more focused on the task at hand.  
  
Back on the Outlaw Star.  
  
"Gene! Welcome back!" Melfina said cheerfully going to hug him. She up and about since she wasn't needed to at as the ships guidance system right now seeing as how they weren't going anywhere.  
  
"hey mel." He said hugging back. Aisha watched closely expecting gene to do something more but he didn't he just hugged her loosely and walked in Melfina herself was a bit surprised by it she had expected at least a peck on the cheek or something. Then she saw the two Aisha was holding and figured it had something to do with them.  
  
"Geusts?" Melfina asked looking at the two and up to Aisha  
  
"Hardly...These two are prisoners till they talk or it may be quite painful." Aisha got a slight smirk as she said the last part and the two men looked at each other worried.  
  
"Oh you can put them in the storage room then." Melfina said turning around and walking away to finish the food she was cooking.  
  
Aisha did just that she took them to the storage room and chained both of them to the walls facing one another so one was on one side of the room and the other was on the opposite side.  
  
"I'll be back for you two later." She said and left happy to finally to be rid of them for the time being. She went to sit by Gene and leaned on him sighing "It's been a long ouple of days gene..." she said  
  
"Yea it has...a lot's happened." He said  
  
Jim who had been watching Gene since he had come in was amaze by the closeness of the two any other day and Aisha probably would be yelling at him for something by now and she surely would never have so much as sat next to him much less put her head on his shoulder.  
  
'she must be either really tired and not realizing what she's doing or ...or hell there's no other explaination!' Jim thought to himself  
  
"what're you gawking at?" Gene said noticing Jim for the first time since he'd sat down.  
  
"Uhh...nothing its just.." Jim started trying not to be too blunt or find a way around it entierely.  
  
"Just what?" Aisha spoke up though sounding tired as she spoke.  
  
Jim couldn't think of a way around it so he decided to just ask. "Just since when are the two of you so friendly?" He asked  
  
Aisha got silent and waited to see what Gene would say. Gene on the other hand was hoping she'd be the one to speak up he was still trying to think of a way to explain it all to Melfina he had been ever since he'd gotten on the ship and she'd greeted him with a hug. He knew she was expecting him to kiss her but he wouldn't...couldn't not anymore anyway not after all that happened down on that planet and when he thought he was going to be tuck with Aisha forever he remembered he never once really thought of it as a bad thing he could've dealt with it if things had really turned out that way. He'd figured if it had they probably would've ended up with a rather large family down there. Well once Aisha came around anyway which was much sooner than he'd expected he hadn't expected her to fall in love with him so easily or so quickly. Maybe she'd always felt that way? Who knows? All he knew was he'd always felt Something for her he never knew exactly how deep it went but he knew he never wanted anything to happen to her. So it was a good thing she was immortal. He knew he argued with her just because he didn't really know what to just talk to her about. He knew since day 1 he at least liked her after all she kept trying to kill him and all he could do was talk and try and convince her to do anything and everything with him but fight until eventually he just fried her knowing she'd be okay since she had been toting her immortality and all.  
  
He sighed and thought about everything that had ever happened between him and Melfina and then thought about how quick he was to get with Aisha. In the end he figured he was making the right choice even though it'd hurt Melfina either way he had to hurt someone at this point.  
  
"Hey mel?" Gene said speaking for the first time after a long time.  
  
"yes?" She said from where she was.  
  
"I need to talk to you...in private meet me in my room in a few minutes." Gene said getting up and going to his room "Oh and Aisha you answer jims question will you?"  
  
"Uh...but I..."She started but Gene was already gone She sighed and stretched out as much as she could.  
  
"Well?" Jim said still waiting.  
  
"Oh right...the question.. Well you see jimmy a lot of stuff happened down there in that jungle and Gene and I have..." she yawned "Man I'm tired.." She said and slowly drifted to sleep.  
  
"Hey! What about my question!?" Jim yelled trying to wake her up but it was no use Aisha slept like a rock when she was really tired. He sighed "Oh well...I got enough out of that to make p my own answer anyway." He said to himself. Figuring that her and Gene had gotten together and that was what gene had wanted to talk to mel about.  
  
Aisha popped up "Oh really? I'll be going then." She said bounding off suddenly full of energy.  
  
Jim just sat there silent somewhat mad and somewhat annoyed. But it was just more evidence that he was right. 'Gene and Aisha? Who'd have thought of that?' he thought to himself and going back to tinkering with parts.  
  
Genes room  
  
Gene was sitting on his bed as Melfina came in she walked over to him and sat on his lap with her arms around him.  
  
"What'd you want to 'talk' about Gene?" She asked laying her head on his chest.  
  
"Umm Mel...Its about us..." He started pulling away from her and standing up.  
  
"What about us?" She asked standing in front of him.  
  
Just then Aisha had just gotten to his room and put her ear to the door to hear what was going on inside.  
  
"I...I have...no that's not the right way to put it....what I mean is I love someone else..." Gene said hesitantly he didn't want to be so blunt about it but there was no use dancing around it.  
  
Melfina looked shocked as if he'd just shot her or something. "s...someone else?...who?" she said quietly  
  
Gene got silent for a moment and hesitated to tell her but Finally he said it"........Aisha"  
  
Outside the door Aisha could've jumped for Joy and thrown a celebration party all by he lonesome he'd just said he lover HER not Mel not some other girl but HER he really did care. She hadn't just been another fling and he was going to leave Melfina for her now. Then it occurred to her how hurt Melfina must be and for a moment she felt bad but the feeling was soon overcome with the joy that knowing she was loved brought her.  
  
"Aisha?....Aisha.....Aisha!" Melfina said now somewhere in between hating him for doing this and hating Aisha for taking him from her and at the same time so deeply sad that it almost didn't matter.  
  
"How could you...Why? Why her? Why now? "She asked.  
  
"Because down on that planet Aisha and I got real close and she almost died when that happened it just kinda slapped me in the face ya know? Like just a sudden realization of how I felt and when we thought we were going to be stuck together we slept with each other..I..I'm sorry mel... but it just wouldn't be right for me to go back to you now...not after all that and not after telling her I loved her...when she said it back to me it was.....it was special it meant a lot to me to hear it from her.  
  
Melfina now understood Aishas near death experience was what had thrown the two of them together. That would do it for a lot of people She was still hurt but not as angry anymore knowing that they hadn't intended to hurt her it just happened. It made Melfina feel like maybe this was something that was always supposed to happen. Maybe her and Gene weren't meant to be. She stood there thinking for awhile before speaking.  
  
"Gene do just one thing for me?" She said looking up at him.  
  
"yes mel?" He said waiting to see what she wanted.  
  
"Kiss me...just one last time." She said he eyes watery but not a single tear had fallen.  
  
Aisha heard her say that and started to bust in 'what if he kisses her and changes his mind?' she thought. 'then where will that leave me?' 'he can't have both of us..' She shook off the thoughts Gene said he loved her and if he really did then kissing Melfina one last time wouldn't make a difference.  
  
Gene granted Melfina her request and kissed her she kissed back obviously trying to spark something in him but he wasn't feeling anything nothing but more guilt. Once they parted she looked at him hopefully.  
  
He saw her look and said simply "Sorry...but it didn't change anything My feelings remain the same."  
  
Melfina finally gave up defeated she started to leave mumbling 'stupid cat shes nothing but a brainless blood thirsty beast what does Gene see in her?' Melfina thought to herself angrily it was the first real time she'd felt rage. But she contained it. He let it all out elsewhere away from everyone.  
  
Aisha could hear someone approaching the door and quickly bounded off down the hall she saw Melfina exit and then quickly run off once the door was closed.  
  
"poor thing." Aisha said to herself feeling guilty again knowing she was the cause of melfinas pain.  
  
Aisha went into genes room and found him sitting on the bed with is back to her staring out the window at the stars She went to him and put her arms around him.  
  
"Hey lover.." She said kissing his cheek  
  
"Aisha...I just.." he started.  
  
"I know" She said before he finished.  
  
When turned around to look at her she explained she'd just seen Melfina in the hall.  
  
"I love you Gene" she said kissing him.  
  
"I love you too Aisha." He said putting his arm around her and laying down with her Resting his head on her chest.  
  
"I could lay like this all night." He said  
  
"Only like this? I've got a couple of ideas...." She said smirking at him.  
  
He knew what she was implying but now wasn't the time he was still feeling truckloads of guilt and it wouldn't help to have Melfina hear them doing that so soon after he'd broken up with her. "not now Aisha not tonight its too soon" he said.  
  
Aisha Nodded understanding. "Okay we'll just lay her then." She said and they both slowly drifted off to sleep.  
  
Meanwhile back on the planet suzuka was just leaving the planet and heading for the ship as her shuttle left another bomb went off and the city went up in a cloud of poison she just barely escaped it when she arrived on the outlaw star she first ran into Jim.  
  
"where's Gene?" She asked  
  
"He's sleeping with his girlfriend." Jim answered.  
  
"oh..." Then suzuka noticed Melfina sittingnot cooking for one but not doing anything "hey wait melfinas over there.." She started.  
  
"Exactly she's not Genes girl anymore.Aisha is!" Jim said expecting suzuka to be shocked. But she didn't really react  
  
"Oh that makes sense...explains a lot but that not important right now we've got a problem Another city just went up! In a cloud of gas."  
  
"What?!"  
  
End chapter2  
  
Okay okay a cliffhanger here so what? I'll be writing chapter 3 soon enough so don't worry you'll get to find out every little thing I won't leave any loose ends when I'm done..but be warned this things gonna get REALLY long.  
  
Next chapter chapter3-Secrets – the mystery behind the bombings and the bombers wo seemingly come out of the wood work will be Revealed! And a whole new problem comes into perspective. 


	3. Secrets

Trials of a c'tarl c'tarl: Chapter3- Secrets  
  
Aisha awoke to find Gene had already gotten up she showered got dressed and went out to the bridge of the ship and found him sitting there with Suzuka.  
  
"Good morning" Aisha said walking in stretching.  
  
"Morning" Gene said standing to kiss her.  
  
Suzuka was slightly surpised by the open signs of affection Him had told her they were together and she had figured it after seeing them on the planet but it still seemed so unreal to see them kissing like that.  
  
Gene sat back down and Aisha sat on his lap laying her head on his chest with her arms around him.  
  
"So what's up suzu?" She asked  
  
"I was just telling Gene that the city we supposedly saved just went up in a cloud of poison gas." Suzuka answered  
  
"What?! No way! We've got the two guys in the hold!" Aisha said her voice full of surprise  
  
"Apparently there's a lot more to it than we know Aisha." Gene said  
  
"Yes we questioned the two you captured and well apparently there's a much larger organization at work than anticipated there is a conspiracy involving the c'tarl c'tarl empire and somehow we're all tangled up in it now." Suzuka explained  
  
"What? The empire?" Aisha was confused she needed to talk to them herself she got up from Genes lap and headed to the hold followed by Gene and Suzuka  
  
"Hey we got company!" Boomer said  
  
"Oh it's the resident cat question about the empire I assume?" Trigger asked  
  
"Yea tell me right now is this some kind of test?" Aisha asked  
  
"My she's a smart one isn't she? Yes this is a test but of who and for what reason you have to figure out." Boomer said  
  
"Of who?...." Aisha thought for a moment.  
  
"Oh look you slipped and told her it was a person!" Trigger yelled  
  
"oops..oh well she'll never figure out who it isn't me that's for sure" Boomer said.  
  
"TELL ME!" Aisha demanded  
  
"Sorry we can't we don't even know ourselves we're just following orders." Boomer informed her.  
  
"YOU IDIOT!" Trigger said.  
  
"Orders? So your members of the military...then they're either Testing me wich I doubt or they're testing whoever is making these bombs and it isn't you despite what you say though at first you reeked with his scent you smell different now." Aisha said.  
  
"See? She IS smart" Boomer said toward trigger "however still doesn't know enough to solve the puzzle believe me you don't want to go any deeper into this rabbit hole you won't like where it goes." He told her  
  
"hm...That's enough from you two I know all I need to." She said and walked out again followed by Gene and Suzuka.  
  
"what'd they mean by a Test?" Gene asked  
  
"The empire is secretly testing an operative probably seeing if they are worthy for a mission or a position if he hadn't said 'who' I would've assumed they were testing a weapon which would have been the poison gas. But my guess now is they're testing the man who shot me." The thought of him made Aishas blood boil she wanted to strangle him rip him in two slowly rip his skin off Anything painful!  
  
"So what now?" Suzuka asked  
  
"We go back" Aisha answered.  
  
Suzuka looked at Gene  
  
"Hey she's running this one she knows more about the empire than I do and besides she's got a deep personal stake in this. So I'm letting her call the shots." Gene said  
  
"Thank you gene." Aisha said turning around and kissing him deeply She needed her revenge.  
  
Shortly thereafter they were back on the planet in the next city that had yet to be bombed it was one of only two that they knew of as before the city was put on high alert.  
  
It didn't take long for Aisha to get a scent she took off after it Suzuka followed her and gene tried but he was way to slow so he resorted to hunting for any others that might be in the area.  
  
Aisha found the man she was looking for it really was him this time she recognized his face now seeing him triggered the memory of being shot he was talking to another c'tarl c'tarl and he handed him a briefcase and then started off Aisha took off after him and suzuka headed for the man with the briefcase.  
  
"HEY!" Aisha yelled at him as she Rushed him.  
  
The man turned around just in time to get kicked in the face  
  
"Ugh! What?! You again?! But how?! I killed you!" he yelled  
  
"Not quite lets just say I have a guardian angel." She said smirking and hitting him again but he took off through the jungle and she followed him leaving a very distinct trail for Gene and Suzuka to follow later.  
  
Suzuka snuck up on the man with the brief case and took him out quietly and quickly she dragged his body aside and looked inside the briefcase another time bomb. Gene happened to wander and find her he saw the time bomb and remembered how to disarm it since it was exactly like the last one.  
  
Then they went looking for Aisha they followed her trial and it led to the only other remaining city.  
  
Aisha had caught the man and had him pinned against a wall and was trying to get information out of him when gene and suzuka showed up.  
  
"Who is the empire testing? You?! Why are they doing it here? Why the poision?!" she yelled at him but he kept quiet.  
  
"Fine we'll just let the galaxy know the c'tarl c'tarl empire has been testing here and almost wiped out a entire civilization for its stupid test!" Gene cut in.  
  
Now the man found his voice "Okay okay....the empire is actually Testing two candidates one is me the other is you Aisha they chose this place because it was jungle good terrain for a c'tarl c'tarl and it made it harder to solve the puzzle or even find the other cities however what you don't know is none of the people you've met are real except the c'tarl c'tarls all the rest of them have been Ai programs everything has been one big Hologram no actual people died here Sure the buildings and things inside them are real enough but the people are all fake every last one of them there never was a race known as the Fusians we made them up the test was to see who was better equipped to handle a mission the empire wants done if you failed to stop me before all the cities went up then I passed if you managed to catch me and stop me you passed and since I'm being held and they probably already know it you've just passed the Test Aisha." He explained  
  
"Wow....that is a big conspiracy.." Suzuka said.  
  
"but what about the bombs?" Gene asked  
  
"Only superficial they were just there to be physical evidence there actually were bombs they are actually as fake as the people though they are physical there's no poison in them the poison itself is just a hologram like the cities the bomb will always seem to go off no matter what you do defusing the physical bombs just delays it 30 minutes so that way it seems like there was another bomb and thus another person."He answered.  
  
"What about the survivor they found?" Suzuka asked.  
  
"Survivor? OH that must have been them giving you a little push since you were stuck they figured you'd need something to go on in order to continue so there you go. Well look here comes the Admiral he can tell the rest if you've still got questions." He answered."  
  
"By the way my name is Darien." He said  
  
"Wait there's one more question what about the poison shot you shot me with earlier?"Aisha asked  
  
"Oh that was real it was a part of the test- survival" Darien answered  
  
Aisha was blown she released her grip on him and he stood there and saluted the admiral when he came.  
  
"Aisha Clan Clan you have passed the test I trust Darien has filled you in?" The admiral asked  
  
"Yes he told me all about the test and its purpose." Aisha answered  
  
"good so do you want to know what the mission is we have for you and your friends?" he asked  
  
"No" She answered  
  
"What?" the admiral asked surprised  
  
"I said no I'm not a part of the empire anymore I was kicked out remember? And besides if this is how you're gonna do a test I don't want any part of your mission" She said  
  
"Hey what about our money for this job?" Gene asked  
  
"Oh right you did complete it now didn't you?" The admiral said handing Gene a briefcase of money.  
  
"We're willing to pay outrageous amounts of money for the mission if you'll take it" the admiral added in elbowing Gene figuring if he couldn't get Aisha to agree he could get Gene to and have her work for them anyway.  
  
"Whats the mission?" Gene asked slightly interested.  
  
The mission is to infiltrate a Terrorist hideout rescue their prisoner and Then utterly Destroy them. But you can't alarm them before you rescue the hostage or he will be killed.  
  
The fact that it was only one hostage peaked Aishas curiosity "Who's the hostage?" She asked  
  
"Your father" the admiral replied.  
  
"WHAT?!" She screeched  
  
"How'd he get captured?!" She asked now worried  
  
"He was en route to a meeting with the head of the space forces but on the way there his ship was attacked by the terrorists and some undercover operatives on his ship revealed themselves and he was quickly taken before word got out and any reinforcements could get there he was already gone the terrorists are demanding 20 billion wong and a weapons cache for his release. And obviously we can't give them that."  
  
"We'll take the Job but you better make good on the ridiculous amounts of money you promised" Gene said trying not to let on that he was really doing it for Aisha.  
  
The admiral nodded "Okay you get this job done you'll get all the money you'll ever need in this lifetime." He said motioning for Darien to follow and the two left leaving only a note that said the empire would contact them on where to go when to get there.  
  
End Chapter3  
  
Okay not so much of a cliff hanger this time and a really short chapter. But still I know your all waiting to see where this'll go next by now. Next chapter – Chapter 4- Betrayal and subterfuge – Need I say more? Someone or someone(s) will be betraying our beloved heroes only time will tell what will happen next. 


	4. Betrayl and Subterfuge

Trials of a C'tarl C'tarl Chapter4- Betrayal and subterfuge  
  
Aisha sat in the lap of Gene nuzzling him and purring slightly as the events of the past week went through her mind they'd been though so much and so much had changed so rapidly. It was still a shock to her that She was actually with Gene she remembered waking up one day and thinking she'd dreamed the whole thing but then she'd turn over and see him laying there next to her. She didn't feel like something was missing anymore she had everything she needed in life food a place to sleep and someone to love she didn't care about anything else. All they needed to do was finis this one job and they were done for rest of their lives they'd never need money again the c'tarl c'tarl government would pay them well her father would make sure of that. Now if only everything went like it was supposed to.  
  
Gene stroked her back and kissed her lightly "Your overly cheerful today." He said  
  
"Am I? I thought I had plenty to be happy about and as soon as we do this last mission we'll never have to do another one we can live anywhere and anyway we want I think that's plenty to be happy about." She replied.  
  
"Well it's not done yet and we don't know what'll happen or what we'll have to go through or even if the government will make good on it's word." Gene said  
  
"They will and we will succeed I guarantee it." Aisha said  
  
"Ah so you do care about your father." Gene said teasingly.  
  
"Hmph...he may be a pompous ass sometimes and a bit too stuck to the rules but he's still my father." She said. For the first time her voice showing some sort of emotion towards him.  
  
Just then they got the message from the c'tarl c'tarl government. Jim Read it aloud to everyone.  
  
"The prisoner Is being held on a small planet called Yevon there's a weakness in his guard around 21:00 hours send no more than 3 people down sneak in get him out then wipe out the enemy. That is all." Jim said.  
  
"Alright people! Lets get going we know where to go and what to do." Gene said As the ship turned and headed for the planet Yevon.  
  
"Suzuka, Aisha You two are coming with me to the surface." Gene ordered  
  
"Right." Suzuka said  
  
"Of course." Aisha said  
  
"Jim gimmie all the lock picking gadgets you got and if you ain't got one Make one before we get there." Gene said  
  
"Right right I'm on it." Jim said  
  
"Anybody know anything about this Yevon place?" Aisha asked.  
  
"uhhhh.....gimmie a sec.....Here it is. Wow it's an odd planet it's tiny so not much gravity yet it has terrain that can be grassland then suddenly become desert then be a frozen wasteland so be careful." Jim said.  
  
"Okay..." Aisha said.  
  
"Lesee...we're about as prepared as we're gonna be so all that's left is to get there." Gene said holstering his caster gun and putting some shells in his belt.  
  
"Wow Gene actually planning ahead for once what'll happen next?" Jim said jokingly.  
  
"Well it just so happens I always plan ahead....just usually not completely but this ones too important to screw up or leave up to chance." Gene replied.  
  
"Ah because it's Aisha father or because of all the money at stake?" Jim asked.  
  
"Both." Gene answered.  
  
The trip there was fairly uneventful aside from the others gagging at the sight of the outpouring of love between Gene and Aisha. Once they were there though they got serious no one joked around anymore scans of the planet showed there was a small complex in the center of jungle obviously they couldn't drop straight in the Jungle and go unnoticed so they chose the dessert near the jungle for their drop zone Gene led the group as they made the short hike through the dessert to the jungle. Once in the Jungle though Aisha led the way as she blazed a trail for the others to follow. The low gravity made it pretty easy they could jump small trees and Aisha could have easily jumped and wound up drifting off into space if she wasn't careful.  
  
The jungle was strangely quiet no animals no movement no sound at all it made Suzuka uneasy it was all amiss to her. "Lets hurry something doesn't seem right." Suzuka said.  
  
"Right I feel it too." Aisha said.  
  
"What're you two talking about?" gene asked.  
  
"Simple if we're in a jungle where are all the animals? Why isn't there any movement or sound besides us?" Aisha said.  
  
"Oh I get it...hey that is abnormal." Gene said.  
  
"Let's just keep moving." Suzuka said  
  
They went on in silence and though there was no movement suzuka couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. When they reached the treeline the found the guards were just turning in and the next set of guards hadn't come around yet so Aisha and Suzuka made use of their speed and KO'ed the two guards and signaled gene they tossed the guards in a old looking shack. And continued on. Now that they were inside the complex they had to figure out where to go. They went through the complex taking out guards silently as they went Gene didn't really have to do much of anything and eventually decided he'd wait for them outside when he'd be needed.  
  
Aisha and Suzuka Carried on Speedily and stealthily taking out guards and checking rooms until they came across one that stood out it had a double bolt on it and a slot Aisha went up to the door opened the slot and looked inside her father was sitting against the back wall of the room.  
  
"It's him" she said to Suzuka.  
  
"Alright go get him I'll guard the door and then we get out of here and signal Gene to start blowing everything up." Suzuka said. Aisha opened the door and her Father looked up  
  
"Aisha?" He said questioningly  
  
"Yes it's me I've been sent to save you." She said  
  
"Well well I never expected you'd come for me." He said standing.  
  
"Though save isn't exactly the best choice of words." He said  
  
"What do you mean?" She asked.  
  
"Oh don't play dumb I know you've been sent to kill me." He said taking a fighting stance.  
  
"Wait Dad no! It's not like that!" She pleaded.  
  
"hmph you'll take me back and the council will make me dissapear it's that simple." He said  
  
"Now fight or be beaten." He said as he attacked her.  
  
He lunged and swung at her head But Aisha ducked and jumped back He continued his assault with a flurry of punches which Aisha dodged Suzuka looked in the room and saw him attacking Aisha and sighed  
  
"We don't have time for this Knock him out and we'll carry him off and figure it all out later." Suzuka said.  
  
"Uh a bit easier said than done." Aisha said Ducking another swing.  
  
Now her father unleashed a series of kicks which Aisha blocked but couldn't seem to counter he was fast Finnaly suzuka got tired of waiting on her and rushed him and caught him in the stomach while he was in mid swing.  
  
"Let's go" She said.  
  
"Right behind ya" Aisha said hoisting her father on her shoulder. They ran out the way they came except when they reached exit the guards were waiting for them. ALL of the guards.  
  
"Well well about time your late." Said a Familiar voice.  
  
"...Darien!" Aisha yelled.  
  
"the hell are you doing here?!" She asked.  
  
"What's it look like? This is my operation you see the truth is Your father wasn't kidnapped he ran I'm actually in charge of protecting him so you see I can't let you walk out of here with him." Darien said.  
  
"The hell?! What's with all the goddamn secrets?! I want the truth!" Aisha yelled  
  
"It is the truth. I was hoping I'd be the one to pass the test because then I could easily botch their operation and know all the little details but you beat me so I had to figure out another plan and then I did some research and found out about a useful ally." Darien said smirking  
  
The mc dougal bothers soon stepped forward.  
  
"YOU TWO!" Aisha yelled.  
  
"Yes that's right though we can't take all the credit for this trap after all it wouldn't have worked without our little spy..." Harry said  
  
"Spy?" Suzuka repeated.  
  
"Yes I believe you all know her and in a second you'll all hate her as much as she does you. Come on out love it's ok." Harry said.  
  
Melfina stepped forward and hugged harry.  
  
Aisha and Suzuka were stunned.  
  
"Mel... Why?" Aisha asked.  
  
"Don't call me that! Only harry can call me that now and it's because you stole gene from me we made a promise, he swore, he wished for me at the leiline! And STILL you took him." Melfina said on the verge of tears.  
  
"Melfina...why didn't you say anything?" Aisha asked.  
  
"Would it have mattered? Gene didn't love me anymore it was over done you killed our relationship Aisha and I'll never forgive you for it nor will I forgive him for leaving me. I put all my faith in him and he betrayed me." Melfina said  
  
"Wait...what about Gene? Where is he?!" Aisha asked franticly.  
  
"Oh him...he's here too." Harry said pointing to the corner of the room.  
  
Gene lay in the corner beaten and bloody but still breathing.  
  
"Oh god gene!" Aisha was now at her breaking point and Harry began to laugh at her reaction to seeing Gene.  
  
"You...You think it's funny?!" Aisha said her voice changing as she began to transform. "It's night time and a full moon on this planet..." She said as she hit the halfway mark in her transformation. She stopped there because Darien had begun to change too once he heard her say the moon was full. Her eyes were glowing slightly from her rage and she broke into a run quickly before Darien could start to transform as well. She smashed him first and tossed him like a rag doll into Harry and Melfina.  
  
"You'll all pay!!" Aisha yelled as she went around beating the crap out of everyone in her way and making sure to make use of her claws as well. Suzuka just watched quietly she decided not to get involved unless she was needed. As the blood flew and bodies were tossed Harry however was also quite pissed now he got up and made use of his cyborg abilities. His speed matched Aishas and the two of them fought it out fiercely with loud echoing thuds every time they hit each other. Melfina watched cheering harry on. Suzuka then realized if she took out Melfina Harry would lose it but she wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing at this point. Then suzuka noticed Gene was trying to move she went over to him and helped him up.  
  
"Damn bastards...." Gene said. "Jumped me as I came back.." He said weakly. "He took out his caster gun. "Help me aim for Ron" He said.  
  
Suzuka raised his arm and pointed it at ron mcdougal  
  
"A little to the right... a little more...perfect." Gene said as he pulled the trigger.  
  
Ron never knew what hit him he was so caught up in Harry and Aishas battle he never expected a shot to come from behind. He fell in a heap on the floor he did manage to cry out but it didn't matter.  
  
Harry looked and saw his brother fall  
  
"NOOOOO" Harry screamed  
  
Aisha took advantage of the opening to lunge for his core she intended to rip him open and tear him apart.  
  
"Harry! Look out!" Melfina yelled but it was too late  
  
Aisha nailed him her hand went through his core and she yanked out a fist full of wires.  
  
"Ugh....No!....no....n........ooooooooo" Harry's voice faded and then was gone his body fell over and hit the floor with a metallic clang. And suddenly Aisha was very pleased with herself. She thought about making sure he was done but suzuka spoke before she could do anything  
  
"We've got to get Gene out of here!" Suzuka said  
  
"Right and my father." Aisha said returning to normal.  
  
"What about mel?" Gene asked breathing heavily  
  
"Leave the bitch" Aisha said.  
  
"is that wise?" Suzuka asked.  
  
"what's not wise is taking her back on the ship so she can try and kill us all in our sleep or poison our food!" Aisha yelled.  
  
Aisha had a point that was hard to argue with Gene just nodded "Fine leave her."  
  
They left for the ship but they'd forgotten one other crucial factor. Darien was still alive and he would later prove to be a pain in the ass.  
  
End Chapter4- Well how was that? Enough action for ya? And I KNOW none of you saw the mc'dougals coming much less Melfina being the traitor and being all vengeful Hurt people do some drastic things ne?  
  
Next chapter- chapter5- Liar Liar 


	5. Found and Lost

Trials of a c'tarl c'tarl Chapter 5½ - Found & Lost  
  
Aisha Sat at a bar downing a shot and telling the bar tender to give her another she'd been depressed since Darien died all their leads had died with him it'd been six months without a single lead and now finding the rest of her family was seeming more and more like finding a needle in a haystack except there were millions of haystacks and only one needle. It all seemed to hopeless with nothing to go on if they could find one just one it'd make things easier maybe they'd find someone who knew where the others went or at least had a clue they'd already tried the places her family used to live in and tried to go from there but they'd all covered their tracks pretty well then Aisha's thoughts were interrupted by some guy who was obviously drunk who came over to her and draped his arm around her like he knew her  
  
"Hey there..." He said his breath reeking of liquor  
  
"Leave me be Terran it's not a good time." Aisha said  
  
"Wha? What's wit you c'tarls' and your high and mighty attitude?" He said slurring a few words  
  
"We act that way because we're better than you well...most of you there are exceptions" Aisha said thinking of Gene.  
  
"Hah! You sound jus like that other old bird that was in ere' a while ago jabbering on at the mouth about her fall from glory she was...." He said this time speaking clearly  
  
"What? A C'tarl woman? What'd she look like?" Aisha asked  
  
"Uh about your size same color eyes her hair was shorter tho' bout waist length I think and it seemed more gray than silver." He answered  
  
Aisha's eyes widened he'd just described her mother.  
  
"What else did she say?" Aisha asked  
  
"What? Now your interested? What's so important bout her to you anyway?" He asked  
  
"I'm looking for someone and she might be her." Aisha said  
  
"Oh well...In that case you'd best look in the scabby part of town then she didn't have much money and looked it too yea I'd say from the looks of her that by now she's on a corner working for some pimp." He said with a slight laugh  
  
Aisha's anger rose but she controlled herself  
  
"Thanks" She said simply and left after putting some cash on the bar to pay for her drinks.  
  
Aisha hurried out of the bar and headed for the south side of the city if her mother truly was in the bad part of town she'd be there somewhere... Aisha pulled a cloak over herself so as not to be bothered by anyone who might mistake her for her mother though that could have been a good thing from what the guy at the bar had said her mother hadn't taken her fall from grace well and was likely to have made enemies by now. Aisha wandered in silence looking around at the thugs eyeing her she kept moving and it wasn't long before she heard a commotion up ahead  
  
"Why you dirty Terran! How dare you!" A womans voice yelled  
  
"Hey you were the one sending the signals babe" A mans voice said  
  
Aisha hurried over and saw her mother arguing with a man about something but she didn't care what it was she'd found her mother.  
  
"....Mother" Aisha said taking the hood off the cloak so her mother could see her face.  
  
She stopped in mid argument with the man and looked at Aisha Then froze as if something horrible had happened.  
  
"Aisha?...No I can't be seen like this!" She said and ran off Aisha tried to follow her but lost her in the alleyways. Her mother may have been getting old but she was still much faster than her.  
  
"Mother...." Aisha repeated silently standing on top of a building looking for some sign of her but finding none.  
  
Then Her communicator blipped  
  
"Aisha Aisha! Where are you?" Gene said  
  
she sighed and grabbed it from her side  
  
"I'm in the south part of town I saw my mother here...but I lost track of her she could be anywhere now." Aisha said.  
  
"Don't worry Aisha we'll find her but for now head back to the ship we'll figure out where to go from here. I'll have Jim make maps for everybody." Gene said  
  
"Ok...Thanks Gene." Aisha said and started back to the ship.  
  
End chapter 5½  
  
Sorry bout this guys but I had writers block for the longest time hence the 5½ so I wrote this to tide you over and let you know I DO intend on finishing this thing...eventually...whenever that is so that said  
  
Next chapter- Chapter 6(Really this time!) – Pride is thicker than blood 


	6. 5 34 ahhh running out of fractions befor...

Trials of a c'tarl c'tarl Ch 5 ¾ (yes I did it again....but hey at least it's an update right?)

Aisha returned to the Outlaw Star to find everyone waiting for her Jim handed her a small device

"This is the map you just push the green button and a holo map of the city will appear pushing the red one gives you a more detailed map based on where you are I'm using the satellites orbiting the planet to make a GPS so I can keep track of everyone." Jim said.

"alright" Aisha said hitting the green button and testing it out.

"The green blip is the ship the blue ones are the others and..." jim said reaching into a case and pulling out a small gun

"if you can tag her with this if she runs again there'll be a red dot and we'll be able to track her wherever she goes." Jim said. Handing it to her.

"So it's a tracer round then?" Aisha asked.

"Yep she'll never even know it's on her."Jim said. "Alright...this section here is where I saw her." Aisha said pointing to a section on the map.

"Right then we'll start our search there. Suzuka you and ask around the area see what you can find out Aisha and I will search a little farther south where all the apartments are." Gene said.

"Okay so let's get going then." Aisha said.

a couple of hours later

"Anything Suzu?" Aisha asked through the headset

"No..nothing if anyone does know anything then they don't want to talk for some reason." Suzuka replied

Aisha sighed she was losing hope they checked seemingly every inch of the city her mother had to be somewhere then as she lowered her head she saw a grate move and out from it came her mother who looked around and started off at a brisk pace.

"Gene" Aisha said quietly nudging him

"Hm?" Gene looked to where she was looking and saw her.

"Alright looks like the chase is on" Gene said.

Hey hopped on her backed and she leapt from the rooftop and landed gracefully letting him off

"Lets go" Gene said starting to run tracer gun in hand and Aisha right behind him

they followed her pretty quietly even though they'd run to catch up at first. She headed up the stairs of one apartment building stopped at the top to look around once more Aisha pulled back and Gene kept walking casually.

"What're you doing?!" Aisha asked.

"going for a walk. She doesn't know who I am remember?" Gene said. Quietly into the earpiece. Aisha watched as he headed inside her mother had taken no notice of him and gone in as well so now it was her turn to follow. As she entered the door she could hear Gene's voice echoing down the stairs

"wow a c'tarl c'tarl don't see many of you around here." He said casually

"And? What's it to you?" She asked him

"it's nothing really just I haven't seen many c'tarl c'tarls is all and I usually hear they're supposed to be all high and mighty too proud to be in places like this." Gene said

"No gene don't provoke her...." Aisha thought as she slowly climbed the stairs using the fact that he was talking to her to avoid being heard coming up the stairs.

She stopped after he spoke and turned to face him. "We Are." She said simply

"Then what are you doing here?" Gene asked stopping and looking right back at her unphased by the look she gave him.

"Do you have a problem with my being here?" She asked

"No...why would I care?" Gene asked

"Then why bother asking?" She asked

"Simply curious is all Curious how a c'tarl c'tarl winds up here I mean if anything wouldn't you have family or something to go to rather than be here?" Gene asked.

"A combination of things that happened in a rather long chain of events is how I wound up here...I care not to discuss it any more than that." She said.

It was then Aisha caught up to them

"Mom....you could have come to me you still can." Aisha said.

Her mother looked at her in shock "How....how did you?...." She started

"Well Actually I helped see I happen to know your daughter quite well...and when she wanted to look for you I decided to help." Gene said.

"You....so you're a part of this...I should have known no stranger ever just suddenly starts talking to a c'tarl c'tarl especially not about their past." She said.

"By the way do you have a name? or should I just call you mom too?" Gene said jokingly.

"Unless either I adopt you Not likely or you Marry one of my daughters Even less likely You'd do well NEVER to call me Mom, mother, or any variation there of Terran." She said

"Then what should I call you then?" Gene asked

"My name it Atma." She replied.

"Atma? Okay...Atma Aisha would like for you to come with us back to the ship..." Gene said.

"Why? There's nothing for me there...." She said

"But Mom what about me?....and...Dad is there...." Aisha said.

At that Atma looked up her eyes held a little bit of a sparkle

"your father? He's with you?" Atma asked

"Yes We found him first I've been trying to get the family back together." Aisha said.

"Alright.....Let's go to this ship of yours....I'd like to see your father again." Atma said.

End Chapter 5 ¾

Okay Okay...I know I did it again and I took even longer with this one....that's cuz of a lot of things I'd rather not explain....soooo Just know that by popular demand the Story WILL Continue just as soon as I write the next chapter....as a token of goodwill I'll prove I've already started the next one with a preview...

Preview of The long awaited Chapter 6- Pride is thicker than blood

"YOU! YOU DID THIS IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Atma Screamed as she threw various things at Zeig.

"Atma Darling...Please calm down!" Zeig said ducking and dodgeing each ting she threw.

"I....I I should turn you in! maybe then I can have my life back!" Atma yelled

"You..You wouldn't! You can't! if you did that then they have no reason to hold off on getting rid of the rest of the family!" Zieg said

"So what? If I can have MY life back that's all that matters." Atma said snatching up a phone.

End preview


	7. The REAL chapter 6 Pride is thicker than...

Trials of a c'tarl c'tarl CH6 - pride is thicker than blood

(A/N YES! It's Finnaly here! The chapter 6 you've all been waiting for what seemed like eternity to read! See? I keep my promises.)

Zieg sat in his room reading the paper sipping coffee. He was a somewhat built c'tarl c'tarl but not the most muscular he had black hair which was uncommon among c'tarls his eyes were as black as his hair and he had a scar on his left cheek that seemed to be where someone with claws had scratched him. One of his servants approached and whisper something into his ear.

"WHAT?!" He screamed spitting out his coffee

"How did you fools allow this to happen?! This can't continue...I'll be heading out myself to deal with this..." He said and got up to get ready for departure.

Back on the outlaw star

Atma had gotten comfortable with her husband again she was glad to be with him she though at first she had planned on chewing him out and kicking the crap out of him for the trouble he caused when she saw him and the pathetic state he was in her anger had melted away then he lit up when he saw her and the two hadn't been parted since.

"Aisha...are your parents still in that room?" Gene asked

"yep still in there don't expect them to be coming out anytime soon." She answered

"Heh...I guess not if I were separated from my wife all this time and then suddenly found her one day I'd never let her get out of bed much less be more than 3 feet from me." Gene said

"oh really? I'll have to test that one day..." Aisha said giving him a peck on the cheek.

"yea? Well we ain't married yet so it doesn't exactly work...which reminds me when are you going to tell them?" Gene asked

"I'll tell them when they're back to normal...besides right now I wouldn't go in that room if you paid me I'd hate to think of what I'd see in there right now." Aisha said.

"Hahah yea given what they're probably doing I doubt we should expect to see them until well into tomarrow you c'tarl c'tarls got stamina..." Gene said smirking

"Oh no we don't have a lot of stamina you terrans just lack it that's all." Aisha said teasing him.

"Hey I think I proved I can fare pretty well with you even if you are a c'tarl c'tarl." Gene said

"hm....maybe for a human." Aisha said still teasing and walking off.

"that girl really knows how to get to me." Gene said to himself before he noticed Jim

"what're you lookin at little man?" Gene asked

"uhhh....Nothing nothing at all" Jim said and hurried on along to his room.

Gene ignored Jim and went to see how melfina was doing but on his way he was interrupted by Gilliam

"gene there is a unidentified ship approaching fast." Gilliam informed

"All right I'll take care of it" gene said heading to the bridge of the ship and taking his seat. As he did a message was received he brought it up on screen

"Gene starwind I presume?" The man on the other end said

"Yea and who're you? And how do you know who I am?" Gene asked

"your reputation and your ships reputation precede you Gene I am Zeig. Zeig Clan Clan I am Aisha's uncle and I believe you have some of my relatives on board.If you don't mind I'd like to pay a visit" Zeig said

Gene thought for a moent he didn't like this guy poping up out of nowhere asking to be let aboard and if he really was Aisha's uncle why hadn't he come sooner if he knew of the ship? Still he couldn't turn the guy away and if things went awry there were three c'tarl c'tarls aboard and all of them would be extremely pissed off if an incident did happen. So Gene agreed.

"Alright you can come aboard just you no one extra." Gene said

"of course" Zeig replied and was off screen a second later.

A mere Minute after that the two ships had docked and Zeig came aboard and was greeted by Gene and Aisha.

"Hello uncle it's been a long time." Aisha said.

"Aisha my you've grown into a woman now last I saw of you you were still no higher than my waist now look at you only an inch or two shorter than me...I heard about what happened when you were expelled from the empire I was worried about you at first but it seems you turned out just fine." Zeig said.

Aisha gave a nod "Yes Gene and the others have taken good care of me if it hadn't been for him I don't know where I'd have wound up." Aisha said

"hm well then gene it seems our family owes you a bit of a debt." Zeig said

"Nah...Aisha has been way too helpful and besides it was partially my fault she was put out I kinda felt bad about it so I decided she could come with us." Gene said

"I see...Well still you didn't have to do that most men would have simply left her stranded." Zeig said.

"Leave her? Haha right she'd have hunted me down...oh wait actually she did at first didn't know who the heck she was still she started rambling on about the empire and my ship." Gene said laughing

"Hey! I didn't HUNT you down exactly...I just kinda...followed until you stopped running around and besides I wasn't going to just let you get away with that disgrace.." Aisha said.

"Well what happened?" Zeig asked

"Er...I wound up Blasting her after she bragged about being an Immortal c'tarl c'tarl she went down and was mumbling about how much it hurt." Gene said

"Welll it did hurt that gun of yours packs a punch..." Aisha said

"So it was after that you decided to take her with you?" Zeig asked

"No actually we left her at first and she tracked us down again this time she transformed on us....fortunately though Blue heaven didn't have a moon and eventually she used up too much energy so feeling pity for her I took her to get something to eat. After that she got mouthy again and then I blasted her again and we left her to take care of the bill...." Gene said..

"Hahaha looks like Aisha was quite a bit of trouble." Zeig said

"Yea...eventually though she gave up on getting revenge and came along with us since at the point in time she had no where else to go." Gene said.

As they finished the story Atma and Richard came out of their room to see what the commotion was....

"Oh my Zeig! When did you get here?" Richard asked

"Only a little while ago brother I've just been catching up with Aisha and how it is she came to be on this ship." Zeig

"Oh that reminds me...I meant to ask you Aisha what IS the relation between you and Gene? You two seem to be pretty close." Atma asked

'FINNALY!' Gene thought now she'd have to tell them and he wouldn't have to hold off anymore.

"Uh....well...Gene and I are..." Aisha hesitated she wasn't sure how they'd react they all had a lot of Pride and having a Terran mate certainly wouldn't go over well with them...even if he was doing them a great service.

"What she's trying to say" Gene interrupted "Is that her and I are lovers and have been for a couple months now. She's been afraid to tell you because she wasn't sure how you'd react." Gene said. As Aisha looked at him in absolute horror.

'He didn't just do that. He COULDN'T have just don't that nonono he didn't say that I'm hearing things....I must be dreaming or something...' Aisha thought as she waited to hear what her parents had to say.

They both stood there for a moment somewhat stunned Atma was the first to speak.

"Aisha dear....you could have told us." Atma said

'what? They weren't angry? "No How could you tarnish our bloodline?" what was going on? They should be cursing to high heaven that she shouldn't be with Gene...Unless they were going to wait to talk to her in private..' Aisha thought

"Yes you could have told us..." Richard repeated and then stopped he looked like he wanted to say something more but he decided to leave it at that.

"Zeig we have much to talk about let's walk and talk atma you come along too." Richard said

they left Gene and Aisha standing there Aisha still stunned no one had said anything.

"See? That wasn't so bad you were all worried for nothing." Gene said.

"Oh they will say something eventually I think they just didn't want to say anything in front of you." Aisha said.

"and why's that?" Gene asked

"Because 1 I'm staying with you 2 they're on YOUR ship 3 You've been a big help so far and they wouldn't want to insult you at least not until they can be certain they have another ride." Aisha said.

Gene shrugged "oh well I tried." He said simply

"So those two are...hm...intresting.." Zeig said halfway along the walk with atma and Richard.

"It's ridiculuous really Aisha knows she can never marry him and by our laws no c'tarl c'tarl is allowed to have offspring unless married." Richard said.

"Well there is one way..." Atma started

"He'd never make it probably would back out before he even started." Richard said

"But you know she won't leave him they may have only been together romanticly a few months but they've been with each other on this ship for much longer." Atma said

Richard sighed "To think My daughter in love with a terran...." He said

"it's to be expected these days brother many of the younger generation seem to be looking outward for mates many of them just don't have the pride in their bloodline that we do." Zeig said

"But Aisha DID have that pride...What happened?" Richard asked

"Maybe simple circumstance or perhaps she doesn't count it as a strike against her pride because he defeated her in battle." Zeig said

"He wha?" Richard and Atma said at the same time in shock

"Yes they've faced each other before apparently she just couldn't beat him so she joined him. I found this out when I asked how she wound up here." Zeig said.

"hm well if that's the case then maybe he is a worthy terran." Richard said...

"enough about them...what are we going to do about getting home?" atma asked.

They were silent for a moment.

"Atma...i...no we can never go back there's no way we can go back" Richard said

"...yes we all know the scandal you caused is far from forgotten the fragile peace between the empire and the space forces just cracked all it'll take now is tiny misstep to shatter the peace and cause all out war..." Zeig said

"I'd just like to know who it was the informed them..." Richard said

"at this point that doesn't seem like it matters much now does it?" Zeig asked

"I suppose your right....I suppose who ever did is living the high life now and probably on all of OUR assets..." Richard said.

During all this time Atma had remained silent because she knew who caused this mess she just refused to say anything. As they brought they conversation to a close Atma spoke

"Zeig I wish to see the ship you came here in mind giving me a tour?" She asked

"But of course." Zeig said leading the way

"I'll wait for you two here...I need to think about what our next move is.." Richard said.

Atma let out a sigh of relief she'd hoped he'd stay behind she needed to talk to Zeig. Alone.

They crossed the bridge between the two ships and entered zeig's ship

"This is my ship the "Jaguar" it's quite a nice ship....but you didn't really come here just to see it now did you Atma?" Zeig asked

"Very perceptive Zeig. Fortuneately for you Richard isn't as perceptive or he'd have torn you apart." Atma said.

"What do you mean?" Zeig asked feigning surprise

"Oh don't play dumb YOU are the cause of all of this!" She yelled

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He said

"you expect me to believe you somehow managed to keep your servants and your ship and expend the resources to search space finding us?" Atma said looking at him as if he was stupid

"Hm...I suppose not...very well come with me." Zeig said heading to his room on the ship Atma followed closely. When they entered the room Zeig turned to her

"We can talk here in privacy." He said sitting in a nearby chair

"Zeig...why?" atma asked

"Because I planned it from the very beginning my dear....I'm the one who convinced poor Richard to do it in the first place I acted as the go between I waited until the appropriate time to betray him without his knowledge and now I will betray him again." Zeig said

"You......YOU'RE THE CAUSE OF THIS AND FOR NO GOOD DAMN REASON?!" Atma screeched she was fighting mad and began picking things up and throwing them at Zeig.

"Atma darling please calm down!" He said dodging the various objects she threw and trying to catch the more valuable ones.

"CALM DOWN?! AFTER WHAT YOU DID?!" She was positively raging now but soon enough she ran out of things to throw.

Seeing as how there was nothing left to be thrown at him Zeig came out from under his desk "Ahem...right then...you see I did do this for a reason..." He said before a paper weight nailed him in the head apparently she'd held onto one last thing to throw at him when he revealed himself.

"ow.....that smarts you know....anyway as I was saying..." He continued calmly slowly approaching her and looking for signs of aggression. as Atma watched him huffing and puffing. She seemed to calm herself a bit waiting to hear this reasoning.

"I did all of this..." Zeig said still inching closer until he was right in front of her face.

"So I could have....you" He said following it with a kiss. Atma was in shock he mind was reeling then she realized he was still kissing her and pushed him off.

"What?...me? how can...." She shook her head utterly confused and wondering where her rage had gone.

"I figured if Richard were exposed as a traitor you would be disgusted with him being the proud c'tarl you are and I would simply move in and support you and we could be together as we should have been to begin with..." He said as one of his hands felt the scar on his left cheek remembering how he'd got it.

FLASHBACK

Zeig came home expecting his girlfriend Atma to be waiting for him but instead he found her on the couch making out with his brother.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" he roared

Richard jumped up and Atma tried to straighten her clothes

"Zeig...uh...your home early...ahaha...." Richard said trying to think of a way out of this.

Atma remained silent trying desperately to sink into the couch and be forgotten.

"Richard you....you bastard just because you're older DOES NOT mean you can steal every girlfriend I have!" Zeig said walking towards him.

"now Zeig...Calm down...shes just a girl....no need to get violent..." Richard said backing down slightly He'd never seen Zeig this way before normally when this happened Zeig would just dimiss it and accept the fact girls just liked his brother more.but this time....this girl was different.

"how long has this been going on Richard?" Zeig asked

"uh..." Richard said not wanting to tell him

"Tell me...NOW" Zeig demanded.

"a month." Richard lied it'd actually been going on longer but Zeig didn't need to know that.

"A MONTH?!" Zeig grabbed his brother by the shirt and lifted him.

"Okay Zeig...You asked for it now." Richard kneed Zeig in the gut causing zeig to drop him then Richard punched him in the face sending Zeig backwards. But he quickly regained his stance and attacked again This time he tackled Richard and began to Pummel him and he held him.

"STOP IT STOP NOW!" Atma screamed unable to watch anymore.

Zeig froze he turned to look at her. Her face full of fear. He couldn't stand having her look at him that way he got off Richard and let him up. But when he saw how she looked at Richard and then back at him as if HE were the monster he felt his rage build again.

"You...I'd almost forgotten you were still here...how could you betray me like this?" Zeig asked

"I....i don't know...it just happened one day....I can't even remember how it started." She said in a fearful whisper.

"You don't know?!...." He growled and approached her and Richard fearing his brother would strike her got in the way. Only to be tossed aside Zeig was not going to be kept from getting his answer. He stood inches from her and looked her in the face.

"I loved you....I trusted you......and you....you just turned out to be another shameless bitch for my brother to have." He said his voice soft at first then full of venom.

Atma couldn't believe what she'd just heard her pride had been damaged an offense she knew no other way to punish than with pain. "How dare you!" She slapped him but dug her claws in as she did creating a scar on his face that would never go away from then on Zeig never loved another woman and his scar always reminded him of her and the day His own pride had been shattered....by his own brother.

END FLASHBACK

"Atma...please...come with me forget him I can protect you I can protect Aisha I can get the whole family their things back with me." Zeig said pleading.

Atma had to sit down she had to absorb this information it was too much...Zeig still loved her?....she had thought he felt hatred for her after that incident so many years ago. It had been the reason she'd chosen to stay with Richard. And now she found her assumption couldn't have been more wrong. He was going to great lengths tarnishing his family's honor and giving up his pride for her. It was a romantic concept she had to admit but it was one of a lovesick fool.

"Zeig....You are going to go to the government tell them you did this or I will." Atma said

"What?...you can't besides even getting close enough to yell it in the streets would be impossible for you. You'd be captured and imprisoned long before anyone heard a word of what you had to say. You have but two options I COULD make it only one but I'm feeling generous. One you come with me Richard does whatever the hell probably eventually winding up rotting in prison. And WE live happy two you stay with Richard I leave you to live whatever decadent life you can scrape together." Zeig said

Atma sat and thought she knew if he wanted to he could just report them and the government would come and capture them really she had but one choice...or did she? Would he really do that to her? She wasn't sure...she was all mixed up. It was time to choose for the second time. And here she thought you weren't supposed to get second chances.

Zeig remained close to her now confident she wouldn't harm him he found she didn't mind him at all it was as if she wasn't really there as she thought he sat next to her and waited.

"take all the time you need." He said

Then she looked up suddenly "I don't need anymore...I've made my choice...." She said

"and what is it?" Zeig asked

"I....I.....I choose...to...."

END Chapter 6

Evil ending isn't it? Well what do you think of THAT? I'm so proud of myself and my plot twist. At this rate this thing could go on forever wouldn't that be great? Anyways R&R like always lemme know what ya think remember your reviews ARE making a difference


	8. Atmas Choice

Trials of a c'tral c'tarl Chapter 7 – Atma's choice

Gene awoke sharply as Gilium went on full alert. Aisha sat up next to him

"what's going on?" She asked sleepily wiping her eyes.

"I dunno Gilium tell me what the heck is going on around here." Gene said

"A C'tarl C'tarl Flag ship along with 4 escorts are headed directly for us" Gilium informed

"WHAT?!" Gene got up quickly putting some pants on and picking up a shirt as he ran out of the room to the bridge of the ship putting his shirt on as he went. Aisha took a little longer getting dressed but once she was she followed

They reached the bridge to find Suzuka, Jim, Melfina, and Richard already there

"You're late Gene!" Jim said

"Aw shudap and fill me in why're they coming at us?" Gene asked

"It seems they know we're have Richard aboard." Suzuka said

"What? But...how?" Aisha asked

"We're not sure..." Jim said

Just then Zeig appeared on screen

"It seems we've got some unwanted company...I'm afraid I can't afford to be found here so I must Bid you all farewell for now." Zeig said

"right I got you." Gene said

"Zeig! Take atma! Get her FAR away from here!" Richard said

"Do not worry brother she'll be fine I'll make sure of it." Zeig said and with that his communication ended His ship separated and then cloaked speeding away completely unnoticed.

On Zeigs' ship

"No we can't just leave them!" Atma wailed as the ship left the outlaw star to the mercy of the C'tarl C'tarl ships

"you heard my brother...He said for me to leave and take care of you and that's what I will do" Zeig said

"But...it's not right...Zeig you lied! I chose you! They're supposed to be okay!" She said

"It wasn't I who called them nor anyone on this ship I assure you I will find out what happened within a day or two." Zeig said

Atma sat down if it hadn't been Zeig then who? It had to have been but there was nothing she could do now. Everything had been settled she was to be remarried to Zeig in two weeks.

Back On the OS

"when they get here....Do not try and save me simply hand me over...it's best if you say you don't know who I am Gene As for Aisha I don't know if they'll want her or not they may simply not recognize her perhaps it's best she stay in her room." Richard said

"Agreed. Aisha Go back to the room stay there until I come for you." Gene said

".....but i...." Aisha started then looked at the both of them she knew there was no way she was staying. "Alright." She said and went back to the room.

Shortly after a communiqué opened

"Gene Starwind of the Outlaw Star, I am lord Kilra and it is believed you have a criminal on board." Cam a booming voice of a Heavily built C'tarl C'tarl Obviously he wasn't one to screw around with.

"And who might that be?" Gene asked

"One Richard Clan Clan. Former Noble now wanted for treason and crimes against the state." Kilra said

"Well we did pick up a C'tarl C'tarl along the way but why are you so certain this is your man?" Gene asked he wanted to know just how they knew and how they found them.

"We were informed by a very reliable source which I was under the impression got information from your crew directly." Kilra said.

'from our crew?..." Those words stuck in gene's mind like a stick in a tar pit. How could Someone here have betrayed them? No no one here would have done that....would they?

Richard Stepped forward. "I'm Here Kilra It's funny that you're the one to come and get me old friend..." Richard said

"Richard...well it seems you're finally ready to man up and take responsibility for your crimes. We will be docking momentarily." Kilra said. And signed off.

"Old friend?" Gene asked turning to Richard.

"Yes...We went to school together and after that he helped me get into the position I had in the government. You see our family wasn't always nobility in fact I am the beginning of the nobility in our bloodline and it seems I'm the end of it as well having shamed my family name now no one who bears it can know honor of any kind...unless someone performs a great service to the government and redeems our family name." Richard said

"Wow you guys really are big on pride and honor huh?" gene asked

"Yes...And I've commited three shameful acts...the first was my treason the second was the guards I injured as a Fled and the third was fleeing and hiding. All are among the worst things a c'tarl c'tarl can do none should hide and none should betray their own kind." Richard said. As he said those last words Kilra came on deck

Richard turned to him. "So you're here." He said

Kilra gave only a slight nod and motioned for the guards to take him.

"No need...I can walk I'm not putting up ay kind of fight here." Richard said. Walking with them

"Very well then...there is one more thing Where is Aisha clan clan I was told she would be here as well." Kilra said

"Aisha? Why is she wanted?" Richard asked knowing gene couldn't do so without revealing that she was in fact there.

"Don't you remember Richard? The law you passed 101 years ago? After he capture of a c'tarl c'tarl who has committed such serious crimes as you their entire family is considered a terrorist threat to the empire and is to be exterminated to ensure no attempt is made at freeing them or retaliation. In this way the empire keeps itself free of cowardice and criminals no one wants to be responsible for erasing their entire bloodline from existence. It took a year of it being in effect before people realized we were serious 5 entire bloodlines were erased. Some of which were rightfully done as it was found they had stockpiled weapons to free their family member.After that it wasn't until 100 years later...now that YOU of all people commit a crime the very person who made it." Kilra said laughing.

A look of horror struck Richard he'd forgotten all about that law it hadn't been used in so long.

Gene had heard enough he knew now simply to say Aisha wasn't here.

"Look I don't know this Aisha all we got is him if we had her I'd give her to you to but we don't." Gene said

"Oh but you do...don't you Gene." A familiar voice came from the dark hall behind Kilra

'Oh no.....' gene thought Knowing exactly who that voice belonged to

"That is unless of course you finally got tired of her." The voice said again then stepped forward as Kilra stepped aside to let him in It was Harry.

"Harry.....but how? You're dead! Like 4 times over!" Gene yelled

"Hahaha I know last time you saw me I should have been dead But....I'm not the only one." As he spoke Darien Steped forward as well.

"Well this is a regular dead guy renuinion now ain't it?" Gene said

"Haha glad you remember me I repaired Harry in exchange for something...now that I'm collecting it's time for me to make good on my end. Well? You gonna sit there or come get him?" Darien asked seemingly to no one in particular until Melfina came out of the navigation system and put her clothes on again. She went to harry quietly without saying a word or looking back at anyone she knew everyone hated her now there was definitely no way she'd have another chance here now.

"so that's it....it was you...." Gene was angry beyond reasoning he wanted to hurt melfina right then and that was a thought he never thought would enter his mind. But such a betrayl was unforgivable.

"So where is she gene?" Harry repeated his question

"She's in the back room waiting for him." Melfina said.

Kilra motioned for one of the Guards to go check. Shortly after he came back with her.

"Why were you hiding her but not her father?" Kilra asked Gene

"......because that's the way he wanted it firstly and second because I love her..." Gene said honestly.

"Hm I see..." Kilra stood there as if thinking for a moment

"hey wait you guys can't take her!" Jim interrupted.

Eeryone turned to Jim " and just why not?" Kilra asked

"Because the government has a contract with her! She's been hired to find him like the rest of us!" Jim said

"is that so?...hmm..Intresting" Kilra said he thought for a moment

"very well leave her If she is under contract then we cannot touch her until you have received your payment." Kilra said.

Gene let out a sigh of relief.

"Let's go" Kilra said.

"Wait your just going to leave them?" Harry asked

"Why not? Our Job is done here." Kilra said

"Damn...I wanted to see him suffer..." Harry said

'I wanted Aisha to suffer.' Melfina thought.

With that they left and a big void was left as to what exactly to do now.

"So what now?" Suzuka asked the first to break the long silence after they left.

"Let's go Find Zeig..." Gene said.

End Chapter 7

Haha! I promised you Darien would be a pain in the ass later and so he is....oh what ever will the OS crew do? Oh and Since somebody finally decided to ask (Abadon 666) I'll tell you this thing ain't ending until you start seeing chapters with the same name as the title which is pretty much next once the whole family thing is settled so yea One more series of chapters after this and this one's over. I'd say chapter 10-11 should be where they start...what? Don't gimmie that look I told you guys before this thing got started this was gonna be LONG and so it is see? I keep my promises


	9. Death?

Trials of a c'tarl c'tarl ch 8 – Death

It'd been a couple days since Richard had been taken into custody and his trial was still pending though everyone knew what the result would be there wasn't any question of his innocence and most felt the trial was a waste of time and money. To the OS crew however it was a godsend giving them much needed time to sort this all out and figure out what to do. They'd stayed in c'tarl c'tarl space contemplating a rescue attempt but every plan seemed futile.

Meanwhile on the surface of the planet.....

Richard sati his cell staring blankly at the wall going over the chain of events that led him here Part of him wanted to blame Zeig afterall he had been the one to suggest this whole thing but he couldn't because ultimately he made the final decision. He wondered about Atma and whether she was okay or even if Zeig and her had escaped safely for all he knew another ship could have picked them up by now.

With a sigh he leaned back against the cell wall and thought back to how he'd met Atma and how beautiful she'd been.....at the time she was Zeig's girlfriend but as usual that hadn't mattered to him especially not in this case.. he recalled the whole chain of events every last detail and suddenly he realied just how wrong he'd been. He had quite literally taken her from Zeig. Right under his nose...it was at this point Richard wondered if all his past crimes were coming back to him rolled up into one for every arrogant decision every prideful remark and action. Little did he know just how close to being right he was...

On Zeigs Ship

"Zeig I STILL want an explaiation for what happened..." Atma said glaring at him

"I know my dear...I'm sorry but all I can give you is someone informed them from the inside it's all I can find out." He replied in earnest

Atma sighed sitting down and looking out into space "So the were betrayed that much was obvious my question was WHO." She said looking back at him once more and then out the window again.

"Atma you don't honestly believe it was me do you?" He asked

"....why not? You set up Richard now you're just getting rid of him." She said

"Honestly Why would I Inform then while I was still there and risk being associated with his crimes?" Zeig asked

"I have no idea....to make it convincing." She replied. Her voice devoid of emotion it was as if a part of her were lost in the space she was staring at.

"Atma...." He began but decided to leave things at that it was painful to see her like that he still loved her so dearly...some part of him just would never let her go and now here she was utterly distraught, alone and Vulnerable and what was he going to do? Nothing that's what. After all there was nothing he could do.

On the Outlaw Star....

Silence was the order of the day and had been since Richards capture no one said a word simply going about their own business none wanting to bring up the subject of what to do since no one had any ideas the most obvious one bust in and take him back was suicide there was no proving him innocent he'd admitted to being guilty and there was no getting him a pardon since the c'tarl c'tarl government didn't flex so much most of it's rules were iron clad no exceptions and to top it off Richard wanted no rescue attempts anyway in hopes of not provoking the government to invoke the 100 year old law he created.

The Day of Richards Execution....

Richard was awoken from sleep earlier than usual only to find it was actually nighttime. A priest sat on a stool next to him "your hour of reckoning has come..." He said and Richard just gave a nod sitting up his mind still groggy the weight of those words didn't quite sink in just yet. As the priest read from the bible to him his mind wandered to all the things He'd done in life all of it came back to him just as clear as if it were happening right then and he wished he had made different decisions hell he was beginning to regret ever being a high ranked c'tarl c'tarl official at least then he never could have gotten into this situation.

His thoughts were interrupted when a pair of Guards came in with his last meal and it was a good one too plenty of meat he ate slowly taking his time stalling for every last second of life he could get. But no matter how slow you go you'll always eventually finish food and when he did the guards began to escort him out of the cell through the courtyard to a stand that had been set up apparently this was going to be made a public spectacle he noticed that a few news crews were present and already reporting live even fellow inmates were out in the yard watching though under heavy guard. As they reached the stand the priest closed his book "Go with god..." Was all he said as he stood watching. Richards was suddenly full of fear this was really it...and now faced with death he found himself wanting to run the guard felt him tense and tightened his grip as they began to secure him.

On the outlaw star Jim flicked on the tv and was shocked what he found Richards execution was everywhere...

"AISHA!" he yelled causing everyone to look as Aisha came over then they all realized what was on the screen.

"NO! We have to move now!" Aisha yelled turning to Gene. But before he said anything something else happened as they began to secure Richard on the screen suddenly the prisoners broke out in a riot. Overwhelming the guards a small battle seemed to break out but one side quickly overtook the other and amid screaming and fleeing somewhere in there Richard escaped it wasn't noticed at first not until the prisoners had managed to open the gates and began pouring out in droves even as the guards that weren't killed got up and began shooting them

"he escaped...." Aisha said in a low whisper at first as she stared at the screen

"He Escaped!!!" She repeated jumping for joy

"You think he planned this all along?" Gene asked

"Who knows? Maybe it was just dumb luck but either way He's free!" Aisha said happily

End chapter 8 –

Yes another ridiculously short chapter I hate these as much as you do but my writers block doesn't seem to be letting up and I think you guys deserve an update so here ya are I promise next chapter will be longer!

Next Chapter – Revelations


	10. Revelations

Heeeeey! I'm back! wow I dind't think so many people would have an issue with the last rights thing..honestly consider it a formality Religion isn't something that's defined by a race but rathr individiual preference so to cover all the bases they do it. it's the same with our system the prisoner may or may not even believe in god but they'll likely sit there through the last rights anyway just to get a few extra moments ya know?

Ch10- Revelations

It's been three weeks since Richards escape and no one has heard anything from him.Not even Atma and Zeig the C'tarl C'tarl government are searching ceaselessly for him interrogating countless thousands of people simply for being in a region he is suspected to be in they're also looking for Aisha however the Outlaw Star was smart enough to lay low while the heat is on.Atma and Zeig are both in clear due to Zeig's influence however Atma is still being watched and outside of it all Richard is somewhere on some solitary planet wondering what his next move will be.

"S'cuse me sir another sundae please." a man spoke up and a C'tarl C'tarl looked back at him sleepily

"sure in a second." he replied and turned to make the sundae he wondered how he had gotten here in this lowly job working for what one could barely even call scraps he had to get out of here he had to get together some cash and get off this planet or at least become a little better established he couldn't stand living like this but then after life as a noble who could? here he was in a blue uniform of a local ice cream shop with white stripes on the shirt wearing the dumbest looking hat he'd ever seen.

Richard suddenly snapped out of his reverie when he felt the cold sundae spill over onto his hands "gah wasn't paying attention" he muttered grabbing a napkin and wiping the sides.

"here you are sir." He said curteously handing the man the sundae.

"Richard!" A voice came from the direction of the back room and Richard turned to see the door was open he sighed 'the boss probably saw that' he thought

"yes sir?" He replied pretending to be suddenly much more interested in his work.

"Come back here a minute" Richard sighed his boss never called him to the back unless he'd done something wrong.

when he got to the back room the old man who richard now called boss was waiting sitting in an old style rocking chair tapping his chin with one finger. He was slender and well tanned wearing a dull blue uniform similar to richards except it didn't have the white stripes.

"Now boy what am I to do with you? three times today a customer has had to ask you for something more than once because you were day dreaming and twice you've overfilled a sundae or whatever for the same reason! now I ain't the harsh type I'm sure you know but this is getting ridiculous Richard is there something I should know about?" the old man stopped tapping his chin and leaned forward waiting for richards reply

'oh yea sure how about I screwed up lostr my spot in nobility and now there's an entire empire looking to kill me?' he thought and sighed he couldn't tell him that hell even if he did no one of this little rock would believe him no one had even heard of the c'tarl c'tarls here he was sort of a curiosity and having him there drew extra customers to the shop just to see him. " No sir...I'll pay more attention I'm sorry I've just been a little tired." He answered.

"tired eh? well I can imagine with everyone following you around like lost puppies you really are an anomaly here so it's natural for everyone to be curious after all you simply being here has nearly tripled business. Go ahead take the rest of the day off I'll call in mike to take over but you'll be starting earlier for the rest of the week." The old man lay back in his rocking chair rockinh slightly studing richards reaction.

"yes sir...thank you sir."

Once mike arrived RIchard gave him an apologetic look, tipped his hat and was on his way.

The walk home was the usual nagging kids wanting to know if his ears were real and pulling on his tail. at first he'd snapped at them when they did that but now he just ignored it walking along in his own little world. plodding steadily as the kids hung off him asking a thousand un answered questions. untill finally he turned the last corner to his house and the began to peel off realising they had wandered too far. Home was a shack of an apartment. everything was practically in the same room the bath room was four steps ahead from the front door and kitchen was three steps forward and two to the left and his bedroom was the only thing that could actually be considered a 'room' in the whole place now granted richard took big steps but even so it'd be about the equivilant of 3 or 4 human steps. he crashed on a futon he had managed to get for cheap from a thrift store and just lay there for awhile before wondering aloud "what am I doing here?" A question he couldn't answer.

Aisha and Gene were taking their time in the search for Richard they had a few ideas where he might go but many of them were difficult to get to without running into the empire. everyone in space knew about what had happened and everyone was looking for richard i mean everyone the c'tarl c'tarl government had offered a 1 trillion woo long reward the largest ever head of.

even the casual man kept an eye on c'tarl c'tarls coming into the ports wondering if any of them might be the man in question hoping to just get lucky and make it big hell even if they could up with a bit of information the c'tarl government was giving 500,000 woo long.

so it was amazing then that so much time could go by and no one have caught him or even seen him and provided a tip. even if it had been only three weeks any other man probably would have been caught the day after the reward was offered.

"There!" Jim suddenly yelled out.

"uh..there what?" Gene asked

"I just found our route past the c'tarl c'tarls and into the lesser used parts of space we want to get to." he answered triumphantly.

"Yea? well how do we do it?" Aisha chimed in hopeful

"Remember those hyper gates we used when we had to do that race for fred?" He asked

"Yea what about em? those are only active during the races the and all the normal ones are under heavy guard." Gene replied

"Well I just figured out how to hack them so We can use one of the race gates to get to any of the other gates." Jim told him Gene stood there dumbfounded.

"And you JUST thought of this!" Aisha said angrily leaning over him threatening to pound him into the ground if he said yes.

"Well...uh...no not exactly...I mean I had thought about it but I hadn't figured a way to hack the gates like we needed so I didn't say anything till now" He replied backing away with his hands in front of him. apparently his answer was sastisfactory because aisha just 'hmphed' and sat down.

"Well that settles it we're on a mission people!" Gene spoke up and the Outlaw Star was on it's way. however somwhere trailing behind them was a new state of the art stealth ship fully cloaked and running silent.

'we'll show them...we'll have our revenge...soon. and this time it's not for anyone but us.'

END chapter 10

Sorry for the shortness guys but I just thought I should write something ot let you all know I'm working on this again now that i'm back. it was actually quite difficult to write this chapter because it'd been so long since I'd worked on this fic gotta get back in the groove of things and recollect my thought process on it.next chap should appear in a week or two if everything goes well.


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